‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ Designer Wanted Villain to “Freak the Audience Out”

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse production designer Justin K. Thompson wanted Doctor Octopus (Kathryn Hahn) to “freak the audience out” with her atypical tentacles, Thompson says in the Art of the Movie book.

“When you look at real experimental, cutting edge science you’ll see that most of the early prototypes aren’t actually that slick. The technology isn’t covered up with slick plastic and doesn’t look like an iPod. We wanted Doc Ock’s world to feel cold, sanitized, utilitarian, and experimental, which gives everything a heightened sense of eeriness for an animated movie,” Thompson says.

Instead of the classic metallic, octopus-like arms characteristic of the famed Spider-Man villain, the visual development artists opted for what the author describes as “semi-transparent silicon material that expands and contracts like membranes.”

“We didn’t want her to wear anything slick or revealing. Instead, we wanted the audience to be genuinely disturbed by how unrefined she seems. Her costume feels like something that hasn’t been finished,” Thompson says.

“She is overly excited about the Multiverse and isn’t really aware of how crazy she looks. She has wild hair with purple highlights. And I really wanted her organic, slimy tentacles to freak the audience out when they slide across Spider-Man’s face. She’s creepy and intimidating and she stands in high contrast with Spider-Man who is just a guy in tights.”

Producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller wanted the eventual supervillain to at first appear as an unassuming scientist, inspired in part by 2013 Large Hadron Collider-centric documentary Particle Fever, adds character designer Shiyoon Kim.

“They wanted to convey the authenticity of these scientists who are so passionate about science that it can sometimes outweigh their ethics,” Kim explains. “They pushed us to look at real scientist to duplicate that same visual.”

The character, named Olivia Octavius instead of the Otto Octavius of traditional Marvel Comics lore, was initially shot down, director Bob Persichetti told CinemaBlend.

“I pitched it, and they were like, ‘No.’ I will say, it was the one moment where I was like, ‘Why are you saying no?’” Persichetti said. “This is the one time where it took a long time to get certain people to come around, and go, ‘Okay, it can be a female.”

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is now playing.